Announcing The Official 2018 TBR Pile Challenge!

After a two-year hiatus (while I was writing my doctoral dissertation – sorry!) I am pleased to announce that Roof Beam Reader’s official TBR Pile Challenge is back for the SEVENTH YEAR!

This challenge started when I realized I had some MAJOR issues with buying books but never reading them (not because I don’t read – but because I have such a book buying problem!) Year after year, books would sit on my shelf untouched, and I would end up reading newer ones first. I realized I was missing out on a lot of great books because I let them sit there gathering dust instead of reading them as I bought them.

1. Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2017 or later (any book published in the year 2016 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.

2. To be eligible, you must sign-up with the Mr. Linky below. Link to your list (so create it ahead of time!) and add updated links to each book’s review. Books must be read and must be reviewed (doesn’t have to be too fancy) in order to count as completed.

3. The link you post in the Mr. Linky below must be to your “master list” (see mine below). This is where you will keep track of your books completed, crossing them out and/or dating them as you go along, and updating the list with the links to each review (so there’s one easy, convenient way to find your list and all your reviews for the challenge). See THIS LINKfor an idea of what I mean. Your complete and final list must be posted by January 15th, 2018.

4. Leave comments on this post as you go along, to update us on your status. Come back here if/when you complete this challenge and leave a comment indicating that you CONQUERED YOUR 2018 TBR LIST! Every person who successfully reads his/her 12 books and/or alternates (and who provides a working link to their list, which has links to the review locations) will be entered to win a $50 gift card from Amazon.com or The Book Depository!

5. Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable, as long as you have never read the book before and it was published before 2017!

*Note: You can read the books on your list in any order; they do not need to be read in the order you have them listed. Audiobooks count. Graphic novels count. Poetry collections? Essay collections? All good! As you complete a book – review it, go to your original list and turn that title into a link to the review. This will keep the comments section here from getting ridiculously cluttered. For an example of what I mean, Click Here.

Monthly Check-Ins: On the 15th of each month, I’m going to post a “TBR Pile Check-In.” This will allow participants to link-up their reviews from the past month and get some recognition for their progress. There will also be small mini-challenges and giveaways to go along with these posts (Such As: Read 6 books by the June Check-in and be entered to win a book of your choice!) I’m hoping this will help to keep us all on track and make the challenge a bit more engaging/interactive. I started these mini-challenges in 2014, and I think they were a great success, so I am continuing them this year!

Chat: On Social Media, please use #TBR2018RBR

My 2018 TBR Pile Challenge List:

Poetics by Aristotle (335 BCE)

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2016)

Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979)

Gemini by Michel Tournier (1998)

The White Album by Joan Didion (1979)

Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain (1894)

Don Juan in the Village by Jane Delynn (1990)

The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer (1997)

The House of the Vampire by George Sylvester Viereck (1907)

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (1901-2)

A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine (2008)

The Ascent of Woman: A History of the Suffragette Movement by Melanie Phillips (2004)

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230 Comments on “Announcing The Official 2018 TBR Pile Challenge!”

I am in this but my list will be filled in as I go. If I make a list of 12 books I know I will go off it or change my mood. I will have 12 blank spaces and will read, link reviews in each space as the year progresses I have SO many TBR books. Look forward to this.

Great. I have the same problem as you. I am now up to at least four bookcases of books I haven’t yet read. I will definitely be participating and will be choosing my books over the next couple of weeks. Thanks for hosting

Sounds like a wonderful idea to finally make those unread books even fewer! I will move away from home (and from most of my books) again at the end of this month, so compiling a specific list is rather difficult at the moment, but I’ll do my best to stick to whatever list I end up putting together 🙂

I always wish I could join this but I never have enough books to qualify. I currently have one that would qualify, haha!
Curious about your date on Kindred – is that a reissued publication date? Also, Kindred is AMAZING! I read it back in 2010 and was completely blown away. I definitely had to read more by her afterwards.

Oh I’m so glad you’re running this again. I tried to motivate myself in 2016 and failed to read more than 2 on my list. Didn’t even try for 2017. Something about having to check in with you motivates me better!

Hi Adam! Are rereads allowed? I have a couple I purchased simply to reread, & haven’t made time for. They’re on my list because I barely remember the first read, so it’s PRACTICALLY like reading it for the first time?

This sounds like it would fit in nicely with my desire to read some of the classics I have yet to read that are sitting (not so patiently) on my shelves. And the prize…well, that is what you call the proverbial dangling carrot!

It’s a great prize to start a new year of reading — go buy more books. HAHA Counter-productive, given the challenge, but whatever. 😉 I think the mini-challenges every few months can be a lot of fun, too, but I suppose I’m biased.

I’m happy that you are hosting this event again, because it was really helpful at getting me reading every month. I love to join this year, and hopefully I’ll finally get through my list. I do need a few days to compiled good titles and I’ll post it right here. Thanks.

I’ve been doing this challenge on my own for the last couple of years, so I’m very glad you’re starting it up again for real! I already have a list, but I’m going to wait a bit before posting it in case I make changes.

Think this is exactly what I need-I constantly buy books from charity shops, but then borrow books from the library to read & never get round to reading the ones I buy. Thanks for hosting this challenge again!

Hello Adam, I’m signed up and am looking forward to putting my list up – but first of all I’m afraid I’ve messed up with Mr. Linky! Is it possible to delete the entry that just has Jane as the name (I’m sorry, I didn’t follow the instructions closely enough!) I’ve tried fiddling about but am getting no where. Thank you and sorry for messing up your list!!

Yay, really looking forward to this! Even though I sucked at completing this challenge in the past, I always liked it and hopefully I’ll do a better job in 2018. I have a list of 12, just need to narrow down my alternates! Thanks, Adam 🙂

Surprisingly, several of mine stem from 2014, although I also have a 2012 and a 2016. I started with a couple of 2014 releases I bought on release but didn’t read (Broken Monsters, and Revival), added 2 anthologies, just skipped around on my Goodreads shelves, then verified the acquired dates. I think I have a genre-busting selection (smile).

I’m in! I’m working on my list today. It starts with my favorite childhood book, the one that kicked off my love of reading, my sense of humor and showed me it’s okay to be a completely absurd human being sometimes – Alice in Wonderland. It was the first “chapter book” I ever read. My daughter owns my first copy of it. I gave it to her before I moved to Scotland. Now that I’m back, I still want her to keep it. It should be passed down.

I have a serious unread books problem (current stack sits at more than 250 books). I’d already (silently) pledged to read 10% of my unread books, so this is definitely the year to tackle the TBR challenge! Excited about it! Follow along at: https://anotherbook.blog/2018-tbr-challenge/

I was looking for a challenge. This just might be doable for me. I buy more books when I don’t have time to read, but wish I did. My bed will never crash to the floor, because the books will hold me up!

This is the perfect challenge for me since it was already one of my resolutions/reading goals to Read The Books I Already Own! 🙂 I am *trying* not to buy new books this year because i have sooo many! And I am possessive of them ,,even the ones i have moved around for years without reading….. i may have a problem, but I am glad to find solidarity here 😉

Got in just under the wire! I’m assuming since you’re now in the Pacific time zone and I’m in Central, I placed my link to my final list before midnight. lol

I’m keeping track of my 2018 challenges on a page on my blog so I linked to that since you said you want us to link to the list we will be updating and linking reviews to. Yours is the first one I signed up for. I’m behind, as usual. I think you’ll like one on my list especially. We talked about it on Facebook a while back. 🙂

I was blog browsing and JUST found our about this. I created a list in my journal of books I considered must reads for the year but didn’t know there was something in the blog space about it. I’ll still look back to see how I’m doing even though I missed the sign up. Great idea!

I did it! 12 books + the 2 alternates as well. Thanks, Adam, for hosting it again this year. Sadly, I won’t participate in the 2019’s (if you are hosting again), but this has been one of my favorite challenges ever! I’ve read some great books, but also few failures, which, but for your challenge, I wouldn’t have finished it.
Good luck for your 2019’s!

I finished my 12th book back in September but never officially linked as finished, I was hoping to read at least one more (I finished 11 plus one alternate). Here’s a link to the original post, which has dates read and links to the reviews:

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